Apple’s announcement about new products left some wondering whether they got confused over the words peak or peek.
Apple called its announcement of new products its “Peek Performance” event. Did they make a mixup between the homophones peak or peek, or was it a pun?
The computer giant planned to introduce a new iPhone SE 3, a new iPad Air, and possibly a new M1 Mac, TechRadar reported. But the invite sent out recently listed the name of the big launch event as “Peek Performance.”
Some people might not have noticed anything wrong with that. That’s because homophones are words we pronounce the same but have different spellings and meanings.
Peak
Peak can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it can refer to the highest point of something, both physical or symbolic.
We often picture the top of a mountain. Visually, the perfect example of a “peak” many of us would imagine might be the logo for Paramount, which you can see here.
Symbolically, one can reach his peak when we consider him at the top of his game. We think of it as a person’s top accomplishment.
As a verb, peak can refer to reaching the top of something.
Peek
Peek can also be a noun or verb. As a noun, it refers to a glimpse of something, often a secret look. You can peek at that memo on your boss’s desk that you aren’t supposed to see.
As a verb, it refers to the act of taking that glimpse. You shouldn’t peek at people in a locker room. Peeping Toms often get in trouble for peeking at the wrong moments…and at the wrong people!
Should it be peak or peek performance, Apple?
If you’re an Apple hater, it’s easy to assume that it must be a typo. The phrase peak performance refers to something working the best way it possibly can. I recall those old Soloflex ads that talked about working out hard to reach your own peak performance. Those ads mostly made me want to stay on the couch because I knew I’d never look like that guy!
On the other hand, we might look at the phrase from Apple as a clever turn of phrase. When Apple holds one of these preview events, they’re giving us a “sneak peek.” That is, they provide a preview of the products they will put on sale later in the year. Computer makers tout the performance of their products, the speed of their processors. As such, since they’re giving a “peek” at the “performance” they will presumably claim sets these new products apart from their predecessors, “peek performance” could be a play on words.
Typo or not, it got at least one computer source talking about the event itself, so if either way, it got Apple slightly more publicity.
So blame it on ignorance of two homophones or a tiny stroke of marketing genius.
